Where is the best law school in the world?

Where's the best law school in the world? The first time I attended a law school I went to the University of Southern California. I dropped out and now I want to go back somewhere. So, where is the best law school? Here, in the states, Harvard, Stanford, and Yale are kings; but what about elsewhere around the world. For example, if I want to focus on international practice, should I stay in the states or go to law school overseas? Is there a law school in Europe that is more prestigious than Harvard, Stanford, or Yale?

That's a tough question because law is so unique to the individual country. In other words, there really is no "global" law school. However, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Columbia, etc. are probably the closest thing to the best law school internationally. A good indication of this is how many foreign students each attracts. Many foreign students apply to LL.M programs at top U.S. law schools, far more than any other country in the world. Some remain in the U.S. and others return home after graduating. But here's the point: even if you're a Chinese lawyer in Beijing, or a Brasilian lawyer in Rio, an LL.M from Harvard is still considered entirely badass. Everywhere you go, that degree is instantly recognizable and respected.

You might be able to say the same about Oxford or Cambridge, but Harvard and Yale are generally (not just for law) considered the top universities in the world. Statistically it's much tougher to get into many top U.S. universities than it is to get accepted at Ox/Cam. In fact, it's a funny thing about the U.S. that we have such crappy k-12 education but such great universities. The Chinese govt sponsored a ranking of international universities a few years ago, and I believe 17 out of the the top 20 were in the U.S. As far as other internationally recognized law schools, I think that their reputations are far more limited. The universities of Sydney, Munich, Tokyo, and Toronto are all very well respected in law within their regions, but I don't know that they carry the same weight as the top ten or so U.S. schools followed by Oxford and Cambridge.

I think it really depends on the country, every country has its pride. There are different good universities in different parts of Europe so first you need to decide what country would you like to study in.

Where's the best law school in the world? The first time I attended a law school I went to the University of Southern California. I dropped out and now I want to go back somewhere. So, where is the best law school? Here, in the states, Harvard, Stanford, and Yale are kings; but what about elsewhere around the world. For example, if I want to focus on international practice, should I stay in the states or go to law school overseas? Is there a law school in Europe that is more prestigious than Harvard, Stanford, or Yale?

There are the usual suspects, of course--Oxbridge, Paris, Tokyo--usually because the competition is so fierce (with Tokyo and other Asian schools making Yale look a bit tepid by comparison). The Gourman Report is (or was) the reference for international comparisons--loose as those necessarily are--for those blue-bloods out there. I've no idea if there's a link, as they are (were) an old-fogey reference, long since overtaken by US News.

More to the point, anyone attending any Top 5 law school in the U.S. or any Top 2 law school anywhere else can get a cappuccino with surprising efficacy.

There are the usual suspects, of course--Oxbridge, Paris, Tokyo--usually because the competition is so fierce (with Tokyo and other Asian schools making Yale look a bit tepid by comparison). The Gourman Report is (or was) the reference for international comparisons--loose as those necessarily are--for those blue-bloods out there. I've no idea if there's a link, as they are (were) an old-fogey reference, long since overtaken by US News.

More to the point, anyone attending any Top 5 law school in the U.S. or any Top 2 law school anywhere else can get a cappuccino with surprising efficacy.

Thane.

I went to the University of Southern California Gould School of Law and I can make tons of money. That was ranked 17 back then. I am thinking about going back to law school to finish, although I have my doubts that I'll return to USC.